


One More Point

by NikAdair



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: High School AU, Volleyball AU, basically an excuse to write a volleyball fic, julance fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:27:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25459306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikAdair/pseuds/NikAdair
Summary: This time, the serve was short and hit the tape. “Front! Front!” Keith got under it just in time and it went arcing right. Allura set it up the middle and Lance came sprinting forward, jumping and smacking the ball down. Acxa dug it, but the force of the spike sent the ball back towards the net.“Keith! Smack it back down!” Lance shouted, regaining his footing.Keith jumped, sending the ball straight down the front of the net. The ball hit the floor right as Lotor dove to try to dig it. “YEAH!!” Keith shouted, getting a similar reaction from the rest of the team.
Kudos: 6





	One More Point

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Julance Day 22: Athlete AU.
> 
> I finished reading Haikyuu yesterday and had a lot of feelings about it, and it just so happened that it was Athlete AU day for Julance, so it was only fitting that I wrote a volleyball fic. I hope I used all the terms correctly, as well as got the rotation stuff correct. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

“Here it is folks, the match we’ve all been patiently waiting for. Nationals finals! Which teams do we have with us today Curtis?”

“Well Alfor, we’ve got the number three seeded team, Team MFE. No one is surprised to see them here. They one first at the inter-high tournament, just barely beating out the Galras. The big upset this year, though, is our other team, Team Voltron. They’re a rather spunky group, and haven’t been to nationals in years.”

“Years you say? My, quite the upset indeed. From everything we’ve seen the past few days, their captain, Takashi Shirogane, has a knack for ground defense that rivals that of their libero, Pidge Holt. But he’s also a heavy hitter, making his fair share of cannon like shots. Pidge, on the other hand, has dug quite a few nasty serves and rebounded back up to get the backs of their attackers.”

“You’re right there Curtis. Pidge is quite the terror on the ground. But their ace is the one to watch out for. Lance McClain wasn’t a staple name in the middle school circuit, but it seems this year he’s really shone through. And as a second year at that!”

“Quite right Alfor! His line shot hits just barely inside the line, leaving their opponents blockers reeling. Not only that, but his eye for cross shots is quite phenomenal. From what we’ve seen, he hits them at such an angle that they barely make it to the ten foot line on the court!”

“This will be quite the match this year. Any thoughts on who might win this?”

“My money is on Team MFE Alfor. They’ve quite the wall of blockers, and their libero is as nimble as a cat.”

“I’m betting on Team Voltron. Given everything we’ve seen, I really think they could win it all. Only time will tell!”

-.-.-

Lance pulled his arm across his chest, pulling just enough to feel the stretch in his upper back, before letting go and switching to his other arm. After two days of matches, and a match that morning, his muscles were beyond sore. He winced a little as he stretched, his arm locking a little.

“Don’t over do it Lance. We need you in top form,” Coran said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry coach. Just need to warm up and I’ll be raring to go,” Lance said, flashing him a wide smile.

“‘Raring to go’ he says,” Keith sneered, walking past him. “You always have to show off, don’t you?”

“Well, someone has to, and it might as well be the ace,” Lance shot back, catching up to him. Keith snorted, shaking his head.

Behind them, Shiro clapped, getting everyone’s attention. “Alright. It’s the last match of the tournament. We’ve seen MFE play. We know they’ve got a nasty wall of blockers. But we’ve faced teams like that before. We just need to stay focused on each point. Now, let’s get warmed up!”

There was a collective ‘YEAH!!’ from the team and they jogged on court. They started with serving drills, sending ball after ball over the net. If Voltron was known for anything, it was that they had quite a few members with a killer jump serve. The big thing, though, were those with a jump float serve, and so far, only Lance and Matt had mastered them.

Lance took a breath and closed his eyes, visualizing where he wanted the ball to go. It hit the court right in front of the net in his mind, and as soon as it did, he opened his eyes, his body already in motion. He threw the ball up, just high enough to be in line with his arm, towards the back line, and ran forward, jumping at the last second as he brought his arm back. He hit the ball with the palm of his hand, bringing it back almost immediately to avoid putting any spin on it.

He watched it travel towards the net, it’s trajectory wobbling a little. It hit the tape, slowing its momentum, before dropping down on the other side. “Yes!” Lance cheered, watching it hit the ground.

Pidge came up next to him, a scowl on their face. “Thank god you’re on our team. That’s one irritating serve.”

“Come now Pidge, you’ve dug far worse than that,” Lance said with a smirk.

“Yeah, spike serves. Jump floaters are the bane of my existence. The only reason we ever get those up is because of Shiro.”

Lance gasped, putting a hand to his chest. “Is the great Pidge saying that even they can’t dig a jump floater?”

Pidge scowled at him again, shoving him a little. “Says the one who consistently gets his blocks tooled.”

This time it was Lance’s turn to scowl. Before he could retort, Coran was calling them over to the net for their next drill -- receives. Coran hit five balls each down at them, aiming at different parts of the floor. Lance watched as Shiro and Pidge dug all of theirs perfectly. If he was being honest, watching them left him a little speechless. Their form was perfect, and their recoveries even more so. Had he not been on their team, he’d definitely think they were both liberos.

Lance’s turn came and he watched the ball. His first three digs were great, the ball hitting up with enough force that, in a real game, it would’ve gone straight to the setter. His fourth one, however, got shanked, hitting the outer edge of his arm and shooting to the left towards the wall. He could hear Keith and Matt laughing behind him, and he scowled. “Again,” he said, getting into a more solid stance. Coran smacked the ball down and Lance reacted quickly, sending the ball up and back at him. A perfect dig.

After his fifth, he moved back to the group. The rest of the team finished their turns, and soon it was the MFEs turn to do their serving drills. “Stay warm guys! We’ve only got a few minutes left before warm ups are over, so make sure to stretch!” Coran called. They all did various stretches, and soon the head referee blew his whistle, signalling for warm ups to end.

Each team lined up along their back line, facing each other. Lance looked at the team on the other side, excitement bubbling in his stomach. It wasn’t every day that they got to go up against seeded teams, much less one of the top three seeded teams in the country. Not only that, it had been years since his school’s team had made it to nationals, and it was the first time they had been in the finals.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for today’s final match!!” the announcer said, his voice booming through the speakers. The crowds went crazy, their cheers almost deafening. “Today’s teams are MFE and Voltron!!” More cheers, this time almost louder than before. “And now you’re starting members for each team!!”

“Starting with MFE, number one and captain, James Griffin, middle blocker! Number two and vice captain, Ryan Kinkaid, middle blocker! Number four, Nadia Rizavi, wing spiker! Number five, Ina Leifsdottir, setter! Number six, Veronica McClain, wing spiker! Number seven, Acxa Sai, libero. And finally, number nine, Lotor Sincline, wing spiker!”

“And for Voltron, number one and captain, Takashi Shirogane, wing spiker! Number two, Keith Kogane, middle blocker! Number four and vice captain, Lance McClain, wing spiker! Number five, Pidge Holt, libero! Number six, Hunk Garrett, middle blocker! Number eight. Allura Altea, setter! And finally, number nine, Matt Holt, wing spiker!”

“Captains! If you please meet the head ref at the net for the coin toss!”

Lance watched Shiro step out of line, walking forward with an air of confidence that spread down the line. He watched his teammates starting to relax, their shoulders loosening and smiles slowly spreading over their faces. He looked back to where Shiro was, watching him shake hands with James.

The coin was tossed and it landed on the ground, the ref looking towards James. After a moment, Shiro walked back, motioning the group to circle up. “MFE has decided to serve first,” he said, looking to Coran.

“Alright guys, it’s the last match of the tournament. I know you’ve got to be tired after the match this morning, but shake off any regrets you may have from that game. Stay focused on each play and don’t let their blockers get to you. We know they have a nasty wall, but we’ve got some heavy hitters,” Coran said. “Most importantly, have fun. It’s not every day we get to play teams like this. Play hard, stay focused, but have fun!”

“YEAH!!”

They made their way onto the court in their starting rotation -- Keith, Matt, and Allura in front, and Shiro, Lance, and Pidge in back. Lance looked to his right, eyeing the way Pidge kept bouncing on the balls of their feet. An anxious habit they did when they were getting impatient. He smiled. Their ground defense was in good hands.

The head ref blew his whistle and his attention was to the other side. Leifsdottir was up to serve first. Her serve wasn’t anything too special. A jump serve that didn’t have a ton of power behind it. But from the tapes they’d watched, she could use a jump float serve when she wanted. There wasn’t much in the way of tells of which she would use, but given that it was the first serve of the match, Lance guessed she would use a jump serve.

His hunch was correct. Her serve came over the net in a stable arc, sailing towards him. He dug it, watching it arc towards Allura. He got back up quickly, running towards the net. Allura set it high towards the middle of the net, and Matt made an approach. Lance smirked as he saw the blockers jump. Matt swung his arm, missing the ball, and Lance jumped from behind, smacking the ball down on the other side of the net. The ball bounced off the floor, rolling to the back line.

“And Lance with the first point of the game! Matt made an excellent decoy and the MFE took the bait. What an impressive play from Voltron!”

Lance smirked, looking at Ryan and Lotor through the net. “Better luck next time boys,” he said, walking to the back left corner. He heard a growl behind him and he laughed.

Allura was up to serve, and just like Leifsdottir, she didn’t have a particularly powerful serve. But where she lacked in power, she made up with precision. The ball arced perfectly towards Leifsdottir, forcing her to make the first hit. Lance got low, watching Matt and Allura trade places while Keith and Shiro watched the middle. Acxa made an emergency set towards the left, and James hit it with enough force to blow one of Keith’s arms back.

“One touch!!” Keith yelled. Lance watched the ball fly towards him, too far back for an underhanded dig. Instead, he hit it with an overhand dig, cursing at the way the ball flew off his hands.

“It’s short! Cover!” Lance yelled, getting back up.

Matt bumped it, sending it right. “Shiro! Last hit!”

Shiro ran to the right, jumping high and bringing his arm back. Lance could hear the smack as the ball went sailing across the net. But Acxa was there ready to dig it back up. It wasn’t a clean pass, but Leifsdottir was able to get control of it and sent it back over to James for a second time. James smacked through Keith’s hands and the ball went flying to the left for a block out.

“Right when you think Voltron has control of the ball, Acxa digs Shiro’s spike and sends the ball in a messy pass Leifsdottir, who sends it to their ace, James, for a powerful spike! James hits it off Keith’s hand and it goes flying for a block out point!”

“Damn, sorry guys!” Shiro called.

Rizavi was up to serve and they adjusted their defensive line. She used solely jump float serves that, from what they’d seen, moved quickly and veered at the last second. They had to be careful in their receives.

The ball came flying towards Lance, and he put his arms out, ready to dig the ball, only to see it drifting back up. He quickly adjusted to an overhand dig, but it was messy and the ball went flying behind him.

“Service ace for Rizavi! That was one nasty jump floater, and Lance just couldn’t get control of it!”

Lance growled, shaking his hands. “Sorry bout that guys! I’ll get the next one!”

This time, the serve was short and hit the tape. “Front! Front!” Keith got under it just in time and it went arcing right. Allura set it up the middle and Lance came sprinting forward, jumping and smacking the ball down. Acxa dug it, but the force of the spike sent the ball back towards the net.

“Keith! Smack it back down!” Lance shouted, regaining his footing.

Keith jumped, sending the ball straight down the front of the net. The ball hit the floor right as Lotor dove to try to dig it. “YEAH!!” Keith shouted, getting a similar reaction from the rest of the team.

“That was one heck of a serve from Rizavi, the ball just barely making it over the net! But Keith was there just in time to dig it! Allura was ready to set it and Lance spiked it with so much power that even with the dig from Acxa, there was no sending that ball to their setter! But Keith smacked the ball back down right in front of Lotor! It’s only the third point of the match folks, but neither team is holding back!”

-.-.-

Lance landed with a huff, breathing heavy. The crowd was going crazy and he half heartedly smiled. It was the end of set three, and he’d just scored the set point, Voltron taking their second set. But it was a narrow margin. The set ended with a score of 29 - 27. But they had the momentum and had every intention on carrying that energy into the fourth set. The ref signalled for a side a change and they walked over to the sideline.

“You guys are playing excellently, keeping up with their blockers and digging their serves. I know you’re getting tired, but keep your focus. If you slip up even once, their spikers are going to get through,” Coran said as they walked. As soon as they got to the bench, Lance all but fell on it, sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him.

Matt passed him his bottle and he drank greedily, already starting to feel the fatigue setting in. “You guys have played six sets today but you’re still playing really well,” Coran said, standing in front of them. “We’ll stick with our rotation for this set. Allura, be aggressive in your serve. The more we throw at them, the less they’ll be able to recover in time. They’ve already figured out you’re aiming for their setter, so start aiming for their ace instead. If we can get him to take a knee, he won’t be an option for an attack.”

Allura nodded, and Lance could already see the gears turning as she started figuring out how and where to hit the ball to get it to James. The ref blew his whistle and he stood, stretching. “You guys can take this set. Can win the match. Now go play your hearts out!”

The team cheered and jogged onto the court. Lance saw that MFE had moved their rotation up two ticks, putting James in the middle of the front row. The perfect place for a jump floater, but not so much for a jump serve. But he had faith in Allura and her abilities and knew that she could get it there.

The ball was served, and it hit the tape right down the middle. Lance watched James dive for it, the ball flying behind him. A botched pass. He switched spots with Pidge as Lotor came running towards the left. His spikes were nasty, but Keith and Shiro cut off the cross shot, forcing him to hit down the line. Right towards Pidge.

Pidge dug the ball, sending it high. “Nice receive!” Lance yelled, watching the ball arc towards Allura. Shiro and Keith fell back, joining him and Matt, and they all made an approach. Allura set the ball and Matt hit the ball down the right side, right into the back corner.

“Nice kill!” Shiro yelled, high fiving Matt.

“That was some amazing defensive work from Voltron! Keith and Shiro had that cross shot completely shut down, leaving James only one option for an attack! But Pidge was there waiting for the shot, and they sent it perfectly towards Allura! A synchro attack from Voltron left MFE frazzled on who to watch, and Matt took the point!”

Allura moved back to serve again, and the ball went straight towards James again. He dug it, never leaving his feet and moved back to start an approach down the middle. Keith, Shiro, and Matt got ready to block him, and jumped as soon as he did. But he was just a decoy, and Veronica came from behind, spiking the ball down. Pidge dove for it, but came up short, giving MFE the point.

“A powerful hit from Veronica! Pidge was so close to saving the ball, but came up short! This shot was MFE saying that they weren’t going to let Voltron take this set so easily!”

-.-.-

He was tired. Exhausted. Voltron had taken their second time out, breaking up the serve for MFE. The score was 28 - 28, and they were stuck in a deuce, neither time able to get the momentum enough to get those last two points. They were stuck in a deuce, and Lance was exhausted.

Lance wasn’t really paying attention to what Coran was saying, his mind too fatigued from watching rally after rally after rally and figuring out the best approach and timing for his shots. Watching everything and running and jumping and hitting. It was exhausting.

The timeout ended too soon, and Lance staggered to his feet. “You okay there Lance?” Hunk asked, helping him steady himself. Lance waved him off.

“Never better big guy. Now come on, we’ve got a match to win.” He walked onto the court, his legs feeling heavy. Two points was all they needed. He’d get those two points, heavy legs be damned. They got into position and as soon as the ref blew the whistle, Lotor sent a nasty jump serve towards the back row.

“OUT!!” Pidge yelled backing out of the way of the ball. It hit just outside of the back line, and a wave of relief went through Lance. On the other side of the court, he heard Lotor yell in annoyance.

“That was a real nasty serve from Lotor! Pidge was right there ready to dig it, but at the last second, they moved out of the way, seeing that it was out! That puts the score to 29 - 28 and the match point is in Voltron’s hands! Will they be able to take the match? Or will MFE force them into another deuce?”

Lance was up to serve. “Stay aggressive!” Coran yelled from the side. Aggressive. Jump serve. But this late in the game, with everyone tired, a jump serve was exactly what MFE was expecting.

He tossed the ball up, not too high, and made his approach, hitting it with his palm and pulling his hand away. He wasn’t aiming for anywhere specific, and despite the wobbly trajectory, Acxa dug it, sending it up towards Leifsdottir. He ran to the corner of the court, watching her set it to the right. Lotor came barreling towards the net, and Hunk and Allura barely got up in time to shut down any chance of a cross shot.

But that didn’t stop Lotor. He hit it hard, right past Hunk’s hand, and it took everything Lance had to dig the hit. He fell back, watching the ball go high towards the net. “Allura!!” he yelled, getting back to his feet and sprinting down the right. Allura looked behind her, tipping MFE’s blockers.

It didn’t matter. She set it perfectly towards him and Lance jumped, watching the blockers hand come up in front of him. He swung his hand down, the ball hitting the tips of their fingers and rebounding back. “Free ball!!”

Pidge dug the rebound and Allura got under the ball. “One more time!!” Lance yelled, backing up and running to the net. His legs were heavy, and it felt like running through water. But he jumped, the ball coming towards him. The blockers jumped again, and Lance pulled his arm back for another attack.

He swung forward, slowing as he got close to the ball, and he dinked it over. He could see the blockers looking in surprise behind them, and as he fell back to the floor, he saw Acxa diving to save the ball. His feet hit the ground the same time the ball hit the ground, and the stadium was quiet.

The quiet lasted all of half a second before a deafening roar of cheers sounded. Lance fell to his knees, his exhaustion finally catching up to him.

“There it is folks! Voltron got that last point! What a miracle play from ace Lance, rebounding it off the blockers! A great dig from Pidge and a beautiful set from Allura leading to a dink from Lance! We have our winners! Darkhorse team Voltron!”

Laughter bubbled up in Lance’s chest, and as he was pulled to his feet by Hunk, he started laughing, tears springing to the corners of his eyes. He looked at his friend, seeing tears in his eyes as well. Pidge tackled him in a hug, followed by Shiro and Allura, and soon they were all on the ground.

“Lance! Holy crow, you did it! You got us match point!” Pidge yelled through their own tears. It hadn’t really hit him that they had won. Not really. Not until that moment.

Relief washed over him and he felt tears running hot down his face. They’d won. They’d beat the third seeded team in the country. Them. Some high school team that hadn’t been to nationals in years.

Coran yelled for them to line up, and they all staggered to their feet, leaning against each other as they made their way to the net. Across from them, MFE stood stone faced, a few crying quietly. They shook hands and walked back to Coran, who had his own tears falling.

“I am so proud of you guys! You played so well and left everything out there. That win is all yours. Be proud!”

They had enough time between the match and the awards ceremony to get changed and cleaned up. They made their way back onto the court, standing on in front of the net. Shiro and Lance walked forward, thanking the refs and officials before being handed their trophy. Lance held onto it tightly and turned around, cheering alongside the team.

As they made their way back home that night, Lance looked out at the night sky, recounting every match they’d played. Every win and every loss. Every team they’d face. All the friends he’d made along the way. All of it leading to that last match. That last set. That last point. They’d made it. They’d won it. They’d won it all. And he couldn’t be prouder of his team.


End file.
